Oats Kharabath | Indian Oats Recipes

Kharabath is a specialty of Karnataka and is available in almost all upahara darshinis in Bangalore.I have earlier posted the recipe of authentic kharabath here.Today's recipe is a twist to the regular kharabath as I used oats and adapted the same kharabath recipe.Oats is one of the not-so-interesting things to eat as it turns out bit sticky when cooked and hence I am not very fond of regular upma made with oats.But this kharabath recipe does a trick in spicing up the boring oats and also improves the texture of oats with not much of stickiness.Generally kharabath is made very rich with a good amount of ghee in it,it is completely left to your choice to use it but it is highly recommended at least in small quantity to get the texture and taste of it.One thing I can assure you is this Oats Kharabath tastes really good though not comparatively as good as the regular kharabath(with rawa) but definitely better than the boring oats upma.I suggest you to go ahead with the recipe if you want to include healthy oats in your diet.

Oats Kharabath Recipe:
(serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 heaped cup quick cooking oats(I used quaker)
1 big onion,roughly chopped(neither too fine nor too big)
2 tomatoes,finely chopped
1 small carrot,finely chopped
1 small capsicum,finely chopped
3-4 green chillies,finely chopped
3/4 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp Garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 tbsp chopped coriander
juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 tbsp lemon juice
6-8 cashew nuts,broken
salt to taste
1 tbsp ghee

for tadka:
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves
2 tsp oil
2 tsp ghee

Method:

• Dry roast the oats over medium flame for 2-3 mins until to remove the raw smell from it.This also helps in getting not so sticky upma,so its mandatory to follow this process.
• Heat oil and ghee in a thick kadai and crackle mustard seeds.Add chana dal and urad dal and fry until they turn red and then add finely chopped green chillies,curry leaves and fry well for a couple of minutes.
• Add chopped onions and fry until they turn pink in color.Add ginger-garlic paste to it and fry until the raw smell goes away.
• Add chopped carrots and fry well again for a couple of minutes.Add chopped tomatoes and fry until they become mushy.
• Mean while in another vessel bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil.Always use proportions of 1 oats : 2 1/2 - 3 cups of water depending on the consistency you need.
• Once the tomatoes become mushy add chopped capsicum,turmeric powder,red chilli powder and garam masala and fry well until the masalas are well mixed and fried.
• Add boiling water to it and let the water come to a boiling point again and add enough salt to it.
• Add toasted oats and quickly stir and cover it with lid and cook for 3-4 mins until the water is absorbed and oats are cooked properly.
• Meanwhile heat ghee in a small pan and add cashew nuts to it and fry until they turn light golden in color.
• Add chopped coriander and lemon juice to it and give a nice stir.When you are removing it from stove add fried cashew nuts along with ghee over it and mix it nicely and switch off the flame.Let it rest for 3-4 mins with the lid covered.

Serve it hot with some potato wafers or boondi on top.This can be eaten on its own as it has all spices in it,if you still want you can serve it with coconut chutney.

Notes:

• Always eat this hot and try to keep it for long,otherwise it will turn sticky.
• Dry roasting the oats is necessary to get a not-so-sticky kharabath.
• You can even add fresh/frozen peas,finely chopped beans,finely chopped eggplant to it.Also,you can even add grated coconut at the end as I did not have it I could not use it in the recipe.
• Generally kharabath is loaded with lots of ghee which gives its unique flavor and makes it tastier.Adding or reducing the ghee is as per your choice and diet.